As some of you may or may not know, my first instrument was drums. I got my first drum set at age 5 and that set the next 46 years of my life in motion. I had drum clothes, drum posters, drum birthday cakes.. you get it.. a drummer was what I "was". It was before the computer age so there was no Google, or Youtube or much of any way to research my passion except to peruse through my brothers collection of vinyl L. P.s and read who played what on who's record etc.
I can remember pulling the big paper sleeve out of the L. P. cover and hoping that it contained the names of the band members, who wrote the songs etc. I loved to match up musicians from one band that played for others. For instance.. Jimmy Messina would appear on his own records, those of "Poco" and the "Eagles". For some reason that was really cool to me.
Fast forward to the fall of 1977. I had just begun my career as a radio announcer or as they called it then a "D. J." and was just absolutely loving it. Listening to music all day, getting to talk and actually getting paid for it was pretty much heaven. At around 5:00 p. m. on a Friday in October my life was set on an odyssey that took 30 years to complete and come full circle.
On that Friday afternoon a 45 rpm single came in to the radio station from "Jackson Browne". I knew who J. B. was and was already fond of his music. I knew that he hung out with the likes of the "Eagles" and I figured I would more than likely dig the song. I threw it on the turntable without auditioning it just after the ABC News at 5:05. (What happens next and over 3 decades is a somewhat un-believable yet inspirational story.)
The first seconds of "Running On Empty" washed over me like a warm Pacific breeze. The pounding of the drums, the "road sound" created by the percussion section, the LIVE sound of the recording and the first vocal line "Lookin' out at the road rushing under my wheels" set it all in motion. I was hooked by the rhythm. That rudimentary, tribal beat made my heart jump, my foot tap and my mind wander. What it must have been like to be on that tour bus, play those venues, meet the people, write the songs. I could actually see my future.. but didn't know it at the time.
A week or so later, as it was done at that time, the radio station received the L. P. of "Running On Empty". I immediately opened it and WOW... a full TOUR BOOK came sliding out in to my grubby paw. Oh MY.. I hit the jackpot. Huge full color pictures, anecdotes, liner notes and in the band line up a familiar, yet as of then, un-explored name... "Russ Kunkel" on drums. Oh my, the rootsy, tribal pounding was coming from the guy that played for James Taylor? So I began to dig deeper. Wait, surely not.. that's him on my favorite "Crosby Stills and Nash" album, and "Linda Ronstadt" too?
As I researched the entire record collection at the station I found this man's name on nearly every pop/rock record of the time. I became a somewhat obsessed with his playing. As I played in our little band at the "Stardust" club and the "Empire Lounge" I would try and play like Russ. A few more toms, and build ups. Solid snare beats maybe a little behind the vocal. Straight forward kick drum that set up the framework. We even learned and played "Running On Empty"... Man just listening to this guy was making me a better drummer... yes.. Russ Kunkel had become my "DRUM HERO"!
Over the next 20 some odd years, I kept track of Russ' career. His playing on tour with "Stevie Nicks" nearly sent me over the edge. His work with Jimmy Buffet (another one of my musical heroes) stretched the limits. I had often wondered what it would be like to meet the guy and what I would say if I ever got to talk to him although I never thought I would.
Fast forward again (can't you just hear the tape player going woomp, woomp woomp as we head for the new century?) to 2006. My brother, Keith, my niece, Shawna and I began to write songs for what we thought was going to be a demo project for Shawna. We had grown weary of getting song demos from Nashville that did not fit her voice or style, so we decided who better to write Shawna's songs than us? We had written 4 or 5 songs with no real plan on how to record them when one day I got a call on my cell phone. It was Mike Turner a keyboard player and studio engineer we had worked with in Ty England's band. Mike wanted to know where Shawna was and what she was doing at the moment? By chance, (or maybe fate) Shawna and I were in Oklahoma City at another studio working on a voical warm up project. Mike asked if we had a minute to come by "Upstairs" studio and have Shawna sing a few tunes on some new gear they were installing? Sure we said, we'll be right over.
Here's where it gets "spooky". After a couple of hours of singing in Upstairs studio, the owner, Ted Curtis, asked this question "Have you ever heard of Russ Kunkel"? WHAT? Russ Kunkel. Of COURSE (here's where I launch in to a diatribe about my drum hero). Well, Curtis adds, I've been looking for a way to bring him here to record and after hearing Shawna's voice, I think this is the perfect project to pitch to him. Are you interested? I nearly blacked out.
I began to sweat a little and didn't really know what to say.. except to fall back on the statement that has always gotten me in trouble before... "Sure, let's do it"!
Now keep in mind, we had NO funding or any idea how this would happen, but for the moment it sounded really good. Over the course of the next few weeks Ted and I were in touch regarding the "project" and lo and behold one afternoon in October he called and said these words... "Russ is booked for xx November... let's do it"....
I'll respectfully skip all of the side stories of how we funded it, what other great musicians came to OKC to record with Shawna and Russ and cut to the proverbial chase.
Russ Kunkel, bigger than life, famous drummer came to OKC and recorded Shawna's "Goddess" album. He is a great guy. Humble, quiet, an expert at what he does. A guy you respect so much that you want to call him "Mr. Kunkel" but so friendly that he's just "Russ".
He and I became instant friends. He was respectful of our writing and impressed by Shawna's abilities. He made great suggestions and kept everyone on their toes. He gladly told stories about J. T. and Linda and CSN and even though we were all "gurming" him a little, he obliged us smiling all of the way.
The moral of the story is.. Life is strange.. who would have thought a farm boy from Cromwell, OK would spend a few days of his life in a studio "producing" his life long hero? That I would become friends with the man that inspired my music and creativity. That I would visit him in L.A. and drink Margarita's while staring at the famous "Hollywood" sign? Or get passes to see him perform with Lyle Lovett, exchange holiday greetings and emails with someone so far removed from the farm in the "River Bend" where I lived when I first heard the pounding of "Runnin' On Empty"?.... Life truly is strange, "it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get", but most of all.. life is what you make it. It's preparedness meeting opportunity, it's never giving up, it's the journey... and all of the other sayings on posters at the mall.. but it REALLY is... and if you are living it with passion you too can experience it.. just as I did...
Cloudwatcher signing off... heading out in the Willie Bus... "Lookin' out at the road rushing under my wheels, looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields".....
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
"Draggin' Main"... How Social Networks Kill Social Activities
Recently my brother and I were discussing the fact that kids don't "drag main" any more. If you go through a small town at 8:00 on a Saturday night, the streets will be deserted. No cars, no honking horns, no horseplay on the sidewalks. My how things have changed in the last 30 years.
For those of you out there that are too young to know what I'm talking about.. I'll explain...
Every Friday and Saturday night in our small community, teenagers would gather in town. We'd run our dad's car, our hot rods, and farm trucks up and down main street U. S. A. for hours at a time. We'd try to time our "drag" so that we could meet the pretty girls at a turn around spot.. and stalk.. I mean.. follow them to Sonic hoping they would stop and we could start a conversation. Each time a buddy drove by, they'd get a "beep" of the horn. Occasionally we'd park on the street and then several others would gather and we would discuss our evening, where we wanted to hang out, whose house was deserted and primed for a "get together" or tell stories about ball games, school and activities. It was "social networking" at it's finest.
In the computer age things are different. Kids don't need main street anymore. They have text messages and Facebook to fill their social "needs". Modern teens just tap some buttons to find out last night's score, where the "party" is or who is out on a date with whom. Although this is much "greener", not burning fuel up and down main street, it is a bit sad that the memories and nuances of main street are gone.
The new age of social networking has also hurt other forms of entertainment. People need people right?
In the days of yesteryear, folks would gather on porches and pick guitar have ice cream and swap stories. If you wanted a date, you'd go to a target rich environment like a dance or a church. Now society has become so lazy that all they do is "tweet" or "post" in order to get their social fix.
How does this affect the entertainment business you ask?
I'll tell you. The entertainment business has largely become a butts in the seat business. In the glory days artists would tour to bring attention to their record on the shelf and hopefully boost sales. Since there are no records on shelves any more, that marketing model has flipped. Now artists sell downloads in order to prop up their tour. Artists are even urged to GIVE their music away to try and create as many advertising "impressions" as possible and entice people to their shows. Record labels are now taking a piece of the touring $ pie because that is the only way any artist makes any money these days. ..... and there in lies the problem.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to get the population out from in front of their computer to go to a live venue.
Internet marketers will tell you it's the wave of the future.. or present.. however concert ticket sales are down, music sales are down, and very few artists are able to find their way to make a living in today's market....
Case in point... A friend of mine recently promoted a benefit concert in a medium sized town. He had 3 very good indie artists with a moderate amount of name recognition. He bought ads on "Facebook" and ran the proper demographic formula to reach the target audience. In a few weeks the ad had garnered over 1 million impressions. However not one ticket was sold from the outlet that was taking on line orders. WHAT? A MILLION people saw the ad and NONE of them bought a ticket? That surprised everyone involved. The problem wasn't the artists, or the cause.. the problem is what society has turned to for social activities. Society by and large does not attend anything any more. They would rather watch a boot legged youtube video of a concert shot on an iPhone than sit in the seat and feel the kick drum rattle their pant leg. They'd rather get tweets from their friends that actually do things, about ball game scores rather than take the trouble to put on decent clothes and go to the ball game themselves.
I know.. I sound like an old fogie.. well maybe I am.. but I can't help but think that without actual human contact (by this I mean being in the same room with people) our society is becoming more fractured. We are afraid of those we perceive as different, because we have never actually met them. We can reach billions of people with a key stroke but can we really affect their lives and introduce them to art, music and social activities if they are only experiencing them in cyber-space? Can new artists bring audiences to their feet, make them laugh or cry on youtube? Is our society losing it's heart and soul because the rest of the world only exists inside a box?
I wish I had the answers. My career in the entertainment business depends on it.. but I don't feel alone. I hear from countless artists, managers and venue owners that are fighting the anti-social aspects of social networking. We'll find a way.. some how.. until then I'll run the movie in my mind of a hot summer night in my '67 Firebird, running up and down Okemah's main street. Honking at friends, chasing the girls, and listening to music. "Down On Main Street"...
Until next time... beep beep... Cloudwatcher signing off........
For those of you out there that are too young to know what I'm talking about.. I'll explain...
Every Friday and Saturday night in our small community, teenagers would gather in town. We'd run our dad's car, our hot rods, and farm trucks up and down main street U. S. A. for hours at a time. We'd try to time our "drag" so that we could meet the pretty girls at a turn around spot.. and stalk.. I mean.. follow them to Sonic hoping they would stop and we could start a conversation. Each time a buddy drove by, they'd get a "beep" of the horn. Occasionally we'd park on the street and then several others would gather and we would discuss our evening, where we wanted to hang out, whose house was deserted and primed for a "get together" or tell stories about ball games, school and activities. It was "social networking" at it's finest.
In the computer age things are different. Kids don't need main street anymore. They have text messages and Facebook to fill their social "needs". Modern teens just tap some buttons to find out last night's score, where the "party" is or who is out on a date with whom. Although this is much "greener", not burning fuel up and down main street, it is a bit sad that the memories and nuances of main street are gone.
The new age of social networking has also hurt other forms of entertainment. People need people right?
In the days of yesteryear, folks would gather on porches and pick guitar have ice cream and swap stories. If you wanted a date, you'd go to a target rich environment like a dance or a church. Now society has become so lazy that all they do is "tweet" or "post" in order to get their social fix.
How does this affect the entertainment business you ask?
I'll tell you. The entertainment business has largely become a butts in the seat business. In the glory days artists would tour to bring attention to their record on the shelf and hopefully boost sales. Since there are no records on shelves any more, that marketing model has flipped. Now artists sell downloads in order to prop up their tour. Artists are even urged to GIVE their music away to try and create as many advertising "impressions" as possible and entice people to their shows. Record labels are now taking a piece of the touring $ pie because that is the only way any artist makes any money these days. ..... and there in lies the problem.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to get the population out from in front of their computer to go to a live venue.
Internet marketers will tell you it's the wave of the future.. or present.. however concert ticket sales are down, music sales are down, and very few artists are able to find their way to make a living in today's market....
Case in point... A friend of mine recently promoted a benefit concert in a medium sized town. He had 3 very good indie artists with a moderate amount of name recognition. He bought ads on "Facebook" and ran the proper demographic formula to reach the target audience. In a few weeks the ad had garnered over 1 million impressions. However not one ticket was sold from the outlet that was taking on line orders. WHAT? A MILLION people saw the ad and NONE of them bought a ticket? That surprised everyone involved. The problem wasn't the artists, or the cause.. the problem is what society has turned to for social activities. Society by and large does not attend anything any more. They would rather watch a boot legged youtube video of a concert shot on an iPhone than sit in the seat and feel the kick drum rattle their pant leg. They'd rather get tweets from their friends that actually do things, about ball game scores rather than take the trouble to put on decent clothes and go to the ball game themselves.
I know.. I sound like an old fogie.. well maybe I am.. but I can't help but think that without actual human contact (by this I mean being in the same room with people) our society is becoming more fractured. We are afraid of those we perceive as different, because we have never actually met them. We can reach billions of people with a key stroke but can we really affect their lives and introduce them to art, music and social activities if they are only experiencing them in cyber-space? Can new artists bring audiences to their feet, make them laugh or cry on youtube? Is our society losing it's heart and soul because the rest of the world only exists inside a box?
I wish I had the answers. My career in the entertainment business depends on it.. but I don't feel alone. I hear from countless artists, managers and venue owners that are fighting the anti-social aspects of social networking. We'll find a way.. some how.. until then I'll run the movie in my mind of a hot summer night in my '67 Firebird, running up and down Okemah's main street. Honking at friends, chasing the girls, and listening to music. "Down On Main Street"...
Until next time... beep beep... Cloudwatcher signing off........
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